"You are indeed beautiful to-night," he half whispered, approaching her closer. Martha turned toward him coldly.
"Did you force yourself upon me this way just to utter such a commonplace remark as that?" she asked.
"Force myself?" repeated Gordon, half indignantly.
"Yes. You know that I am nervous and excited over this performance to-night. In a few moments I will have to face an unsympathetic audience, ready to laugh if I score a failure, reluctant to concede success. At such a time, how can you imagine I want to talk to any one? All my strength and energy are needed for this conflict to-night, and it was unkind of you to insist upon coming here at this moment."
Gordon drew a chair near the ottoman and motioned for her to be seated. Martha reluctantly sat beside him, her thoughts far away, her ears listening intently for the curtain music to indicate the beginning of the first act.
"If you had refused to see me just now," said Gordon, quietly but incisively, "the curtain would never have risen to-night. In fact, I am not sure now that it will rise."
Martha Farnum (Elsie Janis)
Martha looked at him in simple amazement. "Nonsense," she replied. "The curtain will rise in a few minutes."